Bloomfield now had many friends as well as admirers. The Duke of Grafton, on whose estate he had been employed as a boy, settled upon him a small annuity, and used his influence to obtain for him a post at the seal-office at 1s. per day. In addition to this, Bloomfield received frequent presents from the nobility, and even from members of the royal family. To the poor shoemaker, accustomed to the utmost obscurity, all this success, and popularity, and patronage "appeared," to use his own language, "like a dream." In after-years he issued a number of small volumes of poetry, in which are found several shorter pieces of great merit, such as the two descriptive or ballad pieces "Richard and Kate," "The Fakenham Ghost," or the exquisitely simple piece called "The Soldier's Return." The first of these is one of the best modern ballads in the language, as it is certainly among the most, if it be not the most, spirited and original of his compositions. Of the last of the three just mentioned, Professor Wilson says: "The topic is trite, but in Mr. Bloomfield's hands it almost assumes a character of novelty. Burns' 'Soldier's Return' is not, to our taste, one whit superior." The titles of the volumes that followed that by which his fame was established are "Rural Tales," published in 1801; "The Banks of the Wye," 1811; "Wild Flowers," and "May Day with the Muses," 1822. "Hazelwood Hall, a Village Drama, in Three Acts," was published 1823, the year of his death. All these poems have since been issued in one volume, to which is attached a short sketch of the poet's life, and the circumstances which attended the publication of "The Farmer's Boy." This account, given by Mr. Capel Lofft, Bloomfield's kind friend and patron, is full of interest. It serves to show the value of a judicious friend to a young aspirant for literary fame, whose talents deserve recognition, but whose position in life prevents him taking the necessary steps to become known to the world.